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Monday, 3 May 2010

Mavala Scientifique and Nail Shield - My Routine and Reviews

As I've just mentioned for the last four weeks I have been using products from the Mavala range for operation nail growth. Founded in Switzerland Mavala is probably most famous for its nail care products. It is a brand I dabbled with in my much younger days due to recommendations from my mum but it's one that had gradually fell by the wayside, until recently that is. The product I used in the distant past was Mavala's oldest (released to the market in 1959) and possibly best known product "Scientifique"I bought this at the same time as my Urban Decay Alice palette but I didn't start using it till the beginning of April. Scientifique is in its simplest form a nail hardener - it hardens the nail "joining the nail layers together to enable them to grow normally"The product comes in a tiny 5ml bottle - it's a penetrating hardener like the pro strong one I used earlier in this experiment, so it absorbs into the nail. You apply a tiny bit of the turquoise coloured liquid to the tips of your nails then tip your hands downwards to allow the product to drip down your whole nail. I did this on average twice a week :)As you can see it absorbs quickly into the nails and the small sized bottle is justified because you honestly don't need much. It has quite a strange smell quite herbal - not surprising really as some of the ingredients are garlic, lemon, eucalyptus, and chamomile! My one complaint with this product though is the large amount of formaldehyde it contains - this is an incredibly drying ingredient and Mavala recommend you protect your cuticles whilst your using it - whatever you do don't get this on your skin if you can help it, it is super dooper drying and it stings like hell if you get it in to cuts etc - having said that though it certainly seems to make your nails stronger all most instantly:)I was more than happy to try the Scientifique on it's own but I was contacted by a PR company who kindly offered me the chance to try another product in Mavala's nail treatment line. I eagerly took them upon their offer and was sent their two phase Nail Shield SystemDesigned to "reinforce and protect nails" this is a two bottle two phase system to help nails "resist breakage" and protect them whilst they grow long. Bring it on it what I say ;) After I had applied my Scientifique and waited for it to absorb I applied Phase 1 to my nailsNail Shield Phase 1 on first glance is an opaque white liquid but as it dries you can actually see that your nails are covered in tiny nylon fibres that provide support and strength to you nails, a bit like a trellis does for plants - if you look carefully you can see the fibres on my nails.Obviously the presence of the fibres leaves a rough surface to the nails so then you apply Phase 2 - a pinkish / nude filler/sealer coat which evens out the surface of your nails ready for your polishI usually found I need two coats to create a completely smooth surface - I think the idea is you could just leave your nails like this but I personally wasn't too keen on the colour and it felt a little yellow toned to me, so I tended to use it pretty successfully as a base coat, applying it about twice a week - hence all the nailsof the day posts lately :)I didn't have too many issues with the Nail Shield system - the treatments dried pretty quickly, and applied pretty evenly but my one gripe was with the smell - they were really strong smelling - if your adverse to strong nail polish smells this system isn't for you. Having said that as I said previously I have been pretty happy with how both of these treatments have performed - they have their drawbacks but my nails certainly feel a lot stronger and more resilient than what they did before using them and I will definitely consider using Mavala products again in the future.Mavala Scientifique retails for around £11.50 for 5ml bottle and the Nail Shield Duo retails for around £8.50 for the 2 x 5ml bottles. For more information and stockists please check out the Mavala website for more details and stockist information x

(I purchased the Mavala Scientifique myself from Debenhams, the Nail Shield System was kindly provided by a PR Company for review purposes. This has in no way influenced my review - all results and opinions are mine and mine alone)

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I am a Geordie Girl with a passion for fashion and beauty, food and homestyle, who battles ME and more in her spare time. My blog is a place to explore my passions through haulage, reviews and more - thanks for stopping by x